Asparagus cutter



May 22, w23. n www? F. MACKENSEN ASPARAGUS GUTTER Filed May I25, 1922 Panarea May 22, reas.

MNTTE STATES FRITZ Ii/IACKENSEN, OF WOBPSVTEDE, NEAR BREMEN, (SrERlJLANY.4

asraaaeus CUTTER.

Application filed May 25,

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, FRITZ MAonnNsnN, painter, a citizen of the German Republic, and residing at TWorpswede, near Bremen, Germany, have invented an Tmproveinent in a new and useful Asparagus Cutter, of whichy the following description, in connection'with the accompanyingdrawing, is afull specilication, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

My invention relates to a new or improved asparagus-cutter which is provided with a guide-ring embracii'ig the stalk of the asparagus, when the cutter is introduced into the soil, and its object is to enable this asparagus to be cut in a simple and reliable manner at a considerable depth below the surface of the bed without the necessity of removing the soil around the stalk, and to prevent injury of the knife or the stalk, no matter whether the latter has grown crooked or obliquely.

An essential feature of the improved cutter consists in arranging the knife-blade in a covered or protected position at the back of the guide-ring, which itself tapers towards the underside. This construction and arrangement of the guide-ring and the knife-blade ensures not only a sure guidance of the asparagus-cutter, but facilitates its penetration into the soil, while it protects the covered blade against damage and the asparagus stalk against injury by the knife of the cutter.

A further feature of novelty of the improved cutter consists in the arrangement of the blade at the lower end of a tube, which is adapted to slide and rotate upon the rod for introducing the knife into the soil. The tube is at its upper end provided with a handle for operating the knifeblade, and is acted upon by a spring constantly pressing the blade down against the uppervface or back of the guide-ring and against a stop at the outer side of the guide-ring, which stop is preferably formed as knife-edge so that no sand can settle between the back of the knife and the stop.

In a preferred construction of the cutter, provisions are made to enable it to be easily taken to pieces for cleaning purposes and to exchange the blade.; With this end in view, the tube upon the rod for introducing the knife is made in two parts, one of which is provided with the handle and the other of 1922. Serial No. 563,634.

which carries the blade, and4 which are geared together by a suitable coupling or clutch.

Further novel features will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the improved cutter isshown in two constructions by way of example.

Fig. l illustrates the improved cutter in side-elevation, A

F ig.L 2 the lower part of the cutter in sec tional plan viewed from line I-T of Fig. l, on a larger scale,

Fig. 3 a cross-section through the guide'- ring with the knife-blade removed, along line II-H of Fig. 2,

Fig. i a cross-section through the ring along line lH-HI of Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 a cross-section through the ring along line lV-IV of Fig. 2,

Fig. 6 a sectional side-elevation of a modilied construction,

Fig. 7 an end-elevation viewed fromV the right of the upper part of the cutter in Fig. G, and v Fig. 8 on a larger' scale a longitudinal section through an example of a coupling between the rotary tube and the sleeve of the blade.

The improved asparagus-cutter comprises ar rod a` for introducing the knife into the soil. rlhis rod is litt-ed at its upper end with a suitable handle o and at its lower, preferably reduced end with the guide-ring c, which latter may be fixed by soldering, riveting or the like. This ring lits upon or embraces the stalk of the asparagus when it is forced into the soil and is thus guided along it. The guide-ring is so constructed that it effectively covers and protects the knife-blade g described hereinafter, and at the same time facilitates the penetration into the soil. lVith this end in view, the guide-ring c, which at the top is made flat to afford good cover to the blade g, is constructed as small as possible, especially at the side c1 opposite to the bladegI and preferably converges in its side-elevation as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. For the same purpose, the cross section of the ring is throughout tapering towards the underside, so that the inner wall of the ring isA rounded from the upper inner edge to the under outer edge of the ring, as clearly shown in Figs. 3 5.

Upon the rod ,d is arranged a tube 03,

which at its lower end carries a preierably is attached which is acted upon by a helical spring f wound around to rod a. The spring is so disposed andr attached, preterably at thejtwo handles 7) and c, that it 'for-ces the knife-blade g against the upper tace oit the guide-ring and simultaneously outward against a stop or abutment L. rllhe blade thus always takes up the desired protected position upon the back of the guide-ring. The stop or abutment z, limitingr theoutward :movement ot the blade, made as small as possible and preferably ot" triangular ycross-section so that it oii'ers a knifelilie edge to the blade, and the deposition ot' soil upon and interterencebctween itand vthe back of the blade is effectively prevented. The stop It preferably also merges tapering into the guide-ring-r` like knife-blade g .is guided `'upon the insertion rod a by the tube or sleevel i in such a manner that during its rotation an edging or throwing of the blade cannot take' place, and the point of the bla-de maintains good contact with the upper broad tace'o'f the ring C.

As clearly shown in 2, the ring` projects at its inner periphery slightly beyond the edge of the blade, so that the blade, in its. inoperative position, is well protected, also when the knife is introduced into the soil'. The construction is such that after the blade has swept across the orifice of the ring and cut through theasparagus stalk, it projects only very little beyond the ring. rThe vring may be 'made oval and the blade in correspondence therewith,or the ring may be circular and the blade semi-circular.

In order to cut the asparagus in uniiorm lengths, a. stop vor collar Z is provided on the tube d ofthe instrument, which may be slid alongthe tube andiixed in an appropriate position corresponding .with the desired length of the cut stalk, by a winged screw 7c, for instance. l

`Referring now to Figs. G to 8, it will be seen that the tube orsleeve consists ot two parts (Z1, (Z2, the latterot which is con'iparatively short and carries at its lower end the knifefblade g. The other, longer part is provided at its upper end with the handle c ior ,rotating the tube. At theplacez', where the two parts meet,they are ,sor shaped vthat they engage with each other. For this purpose a claw, tooth or similar clutch cr coupling may be provided, which is acted upon by the spring f. At one of the parts Z1 or cl2 a sleeve o or the like is finedv by soldering or in anyother manner, which extends beyond the joint and Asurrounds the coupling or clutch. l l

In order to prevent damage to the blade when a strong counter-pressure arises, for

linstance when a foreignl body has got The scythe- 'cuts the asparagus oil.

jammed between blade and ring or the blade is 'forced too hard against its stop, the clutch is preterably constructed as iree clutch or slip coupling, softhat it becomes automatias the end n oit the spring between them. v .This construction enables the instrument to be easily taken to pieces in order toexchange the' bladeor clean the cutter. lt 1`s`ionly necessary tok unscrew the scr ws m, whereupon the' handle 1,`Z 2-and all tie other.

parts ofthe instrument can be taken oill the i 'rod i. By "adjusting 1, Z22 along the rod e, it is, v'furthermore, possible to regulate thepregsure ot' ne handle i the j handle i the spring and therewith the vtrictional contacty between the two 'j'iortions'otthe clutch at t', in order to compensate wear, yfor instance. ln the modification, there are .also instead oit' a. single depth niark aplurality of such fixed or adjustable marks or vrings Z1 provided on the tube' portion d1] The improved asparagus-cutter is operated in the following manner: The upper handle is grasped by the hand, and the ring c is passed over the head of the asparagus stalk, until it rests upon the surface ot the bed. Pressure is then "exerted upon the upper handle, and the ring is forced int-o the sOiLpreerably by turning it continuously to the right and left, until .the depthmarlred by the collar on the tube is'reached, the rin-g` slidingalong the stalk. Atterthe `desired position at which the asparagus should be cut, has been reached, the second handle e nearer the surface ot the bed is turned upon the rod t of the instrument au' sional resistance of the spring` whereby the knife-blade g at the baci; ot the guidpe-ringl c sweeps across the opening oi" the ring and The asparagus is then lifted out of the soil by'withdrawing the knife by the aid of the upper handle. Y It will be understood 4thatthe details of the improved cutter vmay be modiiied without departing from the spirit of my invention;

What I claim is: f Y l. The/combination', in van asparagus-,cutter,-of a rod7 a handle at one `end oi" said rod and a ring at the other, a tube upon said rod, a scythe-lile knife-blade fixed upon the lower end of said tubel and arranged yatthe back of andv shaped to be covered bysaid ring, a handle attached at` the upper end of said tube, and a helical spring upon the said rod between said handles adapted to press said blade axially against the back of said ring, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, in an asparagus-cutter, of a rod, a handle at and a ring at the other, said ring tapering to the underside, a tube upon said rod, a scythelilre knife-blade fixed upon the lower end of said tube and arranged at the back of and shaped to be covered by said ring, a handle attached at the upper end of said tube, and a helical spring upon the said rod between said handles adapted to press said blade axially against the back of said ring, substantially as set forth.

3. rThe combination, in an asparagus cutter, of a rod, a handle at one end of said rod and a ring at the other, said ring tapering to the underside, a projecting stop at the back of the outer periphery of said. ring, a tube upon said rod, a Scythe-like lrnifeblade fixed upon the lower end of said tube and arranged at the back of and shaped to be covered by said ring, a handle attached at the upper end of said tube, and a helical `Spring upon the said rod between said handles adapted to press said blade axially against the back of said ring and laterally against said stop, substantially as yset forth.

4l. The combination, in an asparaguscutter, of a rod, a handle at one end of said rod and a. ring at the other, a projecting stop at the back of the outer periphery of said ring and provided with a knife-like edge at its inner side, a tube upon said rod, a Scythe-like knife-blade fixed upon the lower end of said tube and shaped to be covered by said ring, and a handle attached at the upper end, and a helical spring disposed upon said rod between said handles and fixed with its ends to said handles for pressing said blade axially against the inner face of said ring and laterally against the knife-like edge of said stop upon it, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, in an asparagus-cut ter, of a rod, a handle fixed upon one end of said rod and a ring attached at the other, a projecting stop at the back of the outer periphery of said ring, a tube upon the lower end of said rod, a Scythe-like knife-blade fixed upon the lower end of said tube and shaped to be covered by said ring, and a half-clutch upon the upper end7 a further tube upon the upper end of said rod, a half clutch at the lower end of said further tube and a handle attached to its upper end, and a helical spring disposed upon said rod between said handles upon said tube and saidy rod for pressing said half-clutches together and said blade axially against the inner face of said ring and laterally against said stop upon it, substantially as .set forth.

6. The combination, in an asparagus-cutter, of a rod, a handle fixed upon one end of one end of said rod.

said rod and a ring attached at the other, a projecting stop at the back of the outer periphery of said ring, a tube upon the lower end of said rod, a Scythe-like knife-blade fixed upon the lower end of said tube and shaped to be covered by said ring, claws formed in the upper end of said tube, a further tube upon the upper end of said rod, claws formed in the lower end of said furthe-r tube and gearing with said claws on the first tube, a sleeve fixed upon one of said tubes and covering the joint, a handle attached to the upper end of said upper tube, and a helical spring disposed upon said rod between said handles upon said tube and said rod for keeping said claws in gear and pressing said blade'axially against the inner face of said ring and laterally against said stop upon it, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination, in an asparagus-cutter, of a rod, a handle fixed detachably and adjustably at one end of said rod, and a ring at the other, a tube upon said rod, a scythe-lilre knife-blade fixed upon the lower end of said tube and arranged at the back of and shaped to be covered by said ring, a handle attached at the upper end of said tube, and a helical spring upon the said rod between said handles adapted to press said blade axially against the back of said ring, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination, in an asparagus-cutter, of a rod, a handle fixed upon the fiattened upper end of said rod, said handle being longitudinally divided, means for clamping the said halves together, a ring attached to the lower end of said rod, said ring being bevelled at its inner circumference, a projecting stop at the back of the outer periphery of said ring, a tube upon the lower end of said rod, a Scythe-like knife-blade fixed upon the lower end of said tube, claws formed in the upper end of said tube, a further tube upon the upper end of said rod, claws formed in the lower end of said further tube and gearing with said claws on the first tube, a sleeve fixed on said tube and adapted to cover said joint between said tubes, a handle attached to the upper end of said upper tube, and a helical spring disposed upon said rod fixed with one end tothe handle rupon said tube and clamped with the other end between the halves of the handle on said rod and keeping said claw coupling in gear and pressing said blade axially against the inner face of said ring and laterally against said stop upon it, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof, have signed my naine 'to this specification, this second day of May, 1922.

FRITZ MACKENSEN. In presence of A. M. MAoKnNsnN, AUGUST QUICK. 

